More than a million Israelis live below the poverty line. Marion Kunstenaar, Dutch by birth, founded the organisation Yad Elie. This organisation ensures that schoolchildren in need receive meals at school. Every day, some 500 Jewish and Palestinian pupils from 12 schools receive a meal.
The children targeted by Yad Elie grow up in deprived neighbourhoods, among grey flats. They hardly know where their food comes from. Yad Elie has therefore started a school garden project at a number of schools. Students learn to grow and prepare vegetables themselves. Six-year-old Moshe is one of the participants.
Moshe's mother fled her husband's beatings. She lived in a shelter for a year and then went to live with Moshe with her family, near the school. Moshe was an introverted, angry and sometimes even aggressive child. One of the teachers took care of him. She picked him up at home in the morning, an hour before the school day started. Moshe then went to the school garden to water plants and weed. Just before class, he would drink a cup of tea with the teacher and eat something.
"Moshe has changed a lot," his teacher tells us. "The hours he spent in the safe environment of the school garden did him good. Because of his good care of the garden, we were able to harvest tomatoes and peppers. Moshe is now a spontaneous child who has control over his angry moods." His mother is very proud of him: "Moshe's tomatoes are the tastiest in the world!"
